The WNBA season may not even be at its halfway point, but it’s never too early to start talking about MVP candidates. While anything can happen, these are the five players we’re keeping our eyes on as we head into the heart of the 2020 season. (All stats include games through Sunday, August 9th.)

 

1. A’JA WILSON – LAS VEGAS ACES

????????????@_ajawilson22 ✖️ #ALLIN ♦️♠️ pic.twitter.com/HCz2XsRTIr

— Las Vegas Aces (@LVAces) August 6, 2020

• 1st in points per game (22.3)

• 4th in rebounds per game (8.9)

A’ja Wilson has had a blistering start to her 2020 season. With Liz Cambage opting out of the season, the 2018 rookie of the year has stepped into the spotlight for the Las Vegas Aces and currently leads the league in points per game. At just 24 years old, the young star seems to add a new skill to her offensive tool kit with every game she plays, and after hitting the game-winner against the New York Liberty, she is very much the frontrunner at this point in the MVP race.

 

2. BREANNA STEWART – SEATTLE STORM

???????????? @breannastewart #StrongerThanEver pic.twitter.com/iHTJvMtPiJ

— Seattle Storm (@seattlestorm) August 6, 2020

• 5th in points per game (19.4)

• 4th in blocks per game (1.6)

• 4th in steals per game (2)

Watching Breanna Stewart dominate teams in the bubble, you’d have no idea she missed all last season with a ruptured Achilles. Not only is she averaging over 20 points a game, but she’s also knocked in 16 three pointers so far (at a 43% clip, 12th in the league). Add to that her 1.6 blocks per game and Stewart is proving to be a problem for opponents at every spot on the floor. The 2018 league MVP is used to being in the conversation, and so far she’s arguably been the most complete player in the wubble.

 

3. DEWANNA BONNER – CONNECTICUT SUN

She did it! DeWanna Bonner passes Sheryl Swoopes to become 23rd All-Time in @WNBA points scored.#SUNState pic.twitter.com/uDmrWOGuA2

— Connecticut Sun (@ConnecticutSun) July 31, 2020

• 4th in points per game (19.7)

• 2nd in steals per game (2.4)

Despite the Sun’s rough start to the season, DeWanna Bonner has been a bright spot. At various moments she has led the league in scoring all while continuing to make her presence felt on the defensive end. With the Sun sitting at 1-6, Bonner is likely on the outside of the MVP conversation looking in, but the 32 year old has proven she is still one of the league’s best. In the first four games of the season, Bonner scored an eye-popping 110 points.

 

4. COURTNEY VANDERSLOOT – CHICAGO SKY

Courtney Vandersloot with a very normal, very easy assist pic.twitter.com/uR79tG1bJd

— Nick Niendorf (@niendorf21) August 8, 2020

• 1st in assists per game (8.9)

The Chicago Sky floor general was just named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week after averaging 14 points, 9 assists and shooting 52% from the field during the second week of play. A nine-year vet, Vandersloot was All-WNBA First Team in 2019, and her 8.9 assists per game this season is far and away the top mark in the league. (Diana Taurasi is second, with 5.9 per game.) If Vandersloot can continue to keep the Sky in contention down the stretch, expect to see the underrated vet slip her way into some of end-of-the-year hardware talk.

 

5. CHENNEDY CARTER – ATLANTA DREAM

Aaaaaaand that makes 32pts for Hollywood pic.twitter.com/v1wHNajCB4

— Atlanta Dream (@AtlantaDream) August 6, 2020

• 5th in points per game (19.4)

• 1st in most points in a game (35)

Carter is the real deal. The rookie has already established herself as an elite scorer, becoming the youngest player ever to drop 30+ in a game when she scored 35 against Seattle. With the Atlanta Dream near the bottom of the standings, Carter likely has a better shot at winning Rookie of the Year, but if she can continue to put up 30 point games (and if some of those games can also be wins), she’ll have a fighting chance of becoming just the second player after Candace Parker to win both Rookie of the Year and MVP in the same season.

Chelsea began Sunday with their WSL title hopes a distant dream... before closing out the weekend right back in the thick of the title chase.

The Blues made a last-ditch effort to claim their fifth consecutive Barclays WSL title on Sunday with an 8-0 win over relegation-bound Bristol City. The victory came after a visiting Arsenal upset current table-toppers Manchester City at Joie Stadium, besting the home side 2-1 on back-to-back goals from Stina Blackstenius. With the win, the third-place Gunners re-opened the door for Chelsea to finish level at the top of the table on points.

Chelsea remains second in the standing, with 49 points to Manchester City's 52. But the barrage of goalscoring over the weekend could be enough to overtake City's potential tiebreak advantage in goal differential, leaving even coach Emma Hayes in awe.

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Chelsea holds a game in hand, but the Blues will need to win their May 15th match against Tottenham to give them a shot at the title. Should they take all three points, the title race will come down to the final weekend, when Chelsea squares off with Manchester United while City faces Aston Villa on Saturday, May 18th. 

Set to take over the USWNT in June, Hayes acknowledged the likelihood of finishing out her time at Chelsea with zero trophies, after losing in both the Conti Cup final and UWCL semifinal last month. But for now, her initial pessimism has subsided.

"Let me be clear, it's not f*****g over," Hayes said after coaching her last home match with Chelsea on Sunday. "There's no time for sentimentality, all work drinks are canceled. There's a title to be won.

"This group of players taught me something so special this week — that you never ever give up."

A WNBA League Pass error left fans scrambling to watch Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso make their preseason debuts for the Chicago Sky in Minneapolis on Friday. 

Despite indicating streaming availability via YouTube before tip-off, the evening’s game was later removed from the league’s platform. With no streaming options — along with no live TV broadcast — WNBA fan Alli Schneider began livestreaming the game on X from her seat inside Target Center. As many as 400,000 people logged on to watch the game live, and by Saturday, the resulting two-hour video had amassed over 2 million total views. 

In the lead-up to the preseason showdown, fans on both sides voiced frustrations over the WNBA's error. The league apologized in response, saying their app was "incorrectly showing that every preseason game (including CHI vs MIN) is available on League Pass."

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"The growth is happening so fast, it’s so accelerated. Business as usual isn’t going to work anymore, you’re going to get left behind," Reeve said of the blunder. "This is an example... We have to capitalize on those things."

Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon echoed Reeve's sentiments, calling it "awesome" that so many fans followed along via Schneider's DIY livestream.

"We would love for us to be on and for everyone to take a look, especially for this team, you have a great group of young women who are exciting to watch play," said Weatherspoon. "Tonight we had an opportunity to kind of get a feel for where we are and what we need to do. It’s awesome to know that a lot of people really tuned in."

On the court, Reese had a near double-double in her first professional outing, notching 13 points and nine rebounds in 24 minutes. A viral pass inside to set up fellow rookie Cardoso's bucket served as the icing on the cake. The Sky ultimately lost to the Lynx 92-81, despite Minnesota newcomer Alissa Pili netting just two points and one rebound in 13 minutes of playing time.

Due to overwhelming fan demand, the WNBA confirmed today that it will indeed stream the Sky's next preseason game against the New York Liberty on League Pass. The two teams square off on Tuesday, May 7th at 8 PM ET.

The Caitlin Clark WNBA era has officially begun, with the star-studded rookie making her preseason debut with the Indiana Fever on Friday. 

Clark scored a team-leading 21 points — including five threes — and recorded a game-high 16 points at the half. But it was Arike Ogunbowale who got the last word for Dallas, knocking down a splashy buzzer-beating three-pointer in front of the sold-out crowd to deliver the Wings the 79-76 win.

"I think there's gonna be a lot to go back and look at and learn from, because a lot of it is kind of different from college," Clark said shortly after the Fever's loss. "Just from, you know, a technique standpoint or you know, scheme standpoint, and what we do is not always always going to be the same. So I think those are the biggest things, but I think overall, I just played really hard and that's always something to be proud of."

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For Clark, the biggest transition challenges lie in WNBA's physicality and talent levels. 

"No matter who steps into the game, you can never really relax, because that’s how competitive the league is," she added.

Fever coach Christie Sides also commented on's Clark on-court adjustment in her postgame remarks. Noting that the team will have to take steps to protect their star as she navigates the W's upgraded athleticism, Sides shared that at one point in the game, Clark was "completely gassed" and called for a sub. 

"We have to do better, we can't let her get to that point," Sides said. "She just won't be able to last and the way people are guarding her — I mean, she's seeing a double team, she's seeing hard hedges, they're being real physical with her. That's how it's going to be for her. And so we've got to make sure we're doing what we can to protect her so she's able to go into fourth at the same level she is in the first."

Clark wasn't the only rookie making their pro debut in Dallas that night. Ohio State ace Jacy Sheldon racked up six points and one rebound in her 13 minutes on the court (plus an unfortunate viral moment), but the breakout performance of the night went to Jaelyn Brown, a Cal grad who went undrafted in 2020 and spent the last few years playing overseas. On Friday, she carried the Wings to the finish line with 21 points in 29 minutes on 7-of-15 shooting.

After the game, Brown attested that she's "ready to compete" in an atmosphere that she "belongs in."

"I just try and treat it as any other game," she continued. "The crowd was amazing, it’s a little different from overseas, a little bit, but it’s the same game. I just [came] out there with a calm composure and did what I can do."

Seven-time Olympic gold medalist Katie Ledecky received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, at a White House ceremony on Friday afternoon. 

The Team USA standout is the most decorated women’s swimmer in the sport’s history. In addition to her seven Olympic golds, she’s also won a total of 21 gold medals at the World Championships, the most of any swimmer regardless of gender. 

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The esteemed award recognizes those who have "made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors," according to a White House press briefing. 

Ledecky is one of 19 medal recipients chosen by the Biden administration this year. She joins a class that spans the worlds of politics, sports, film, human rights, religion, and science. Her fellow 2024 awardees include Everything Everywhere All at Once actress Michelle Yeoh, pioneering Hispanic astronaut Dr. Ellen Ochoa, and former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, plus posthumous winners Jim Thorpe, the first Native American to win an Olympic gold medal for the US, and assassinated civil rights leader Medgar Evers. 

"I'm surrounded by so many extraordinary people in so many different fields," Ledecky told Just Women's Sports on Friday. "I feel like I've made a lot of friends today among that group, and their families and their friends."

Olympic gymnast Simone Biles and USWNT legend Megan Rapinoe were among 2022’s class of Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients. Biles and Rapinoe were the fifth and sixth women athletes to be given the honor, making Ledecky the seventh.

Ledecky said she was surprised to learn how recent it has been that athletes in women's sports have been considered for the honor. Billie Jean King was the first to receive the award in 2009. "That kind of blew my mind that it was that recent," she said.

"There are so many great female athletes that I've looked up to for so many years," she continued. "And I know we're just going to keep pushing ahead, and doing our best to continue to get a seat at every table."

Like Biles, Ledecky receives the Medal of Freedom while she's still actively competing in her sport, a fact not lost on the 27-year-old. "My goals in the pool are to continue to push forward and swim good times, hopefully win some more medals. And then secondly to continue to do good things out of the pool, whether that's inspiring young kids to learn how to swim, get into the sport, set big goals in whatever pursuits they're interested in."

"I've recognized I've had a long career now, and it's important to reflect every now and then. But at the same time, I'm still competing and still working hard into the future."